War Amputees- Iraq and Afghanistan

Collected Articles about amputees as a result of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Infantry amputee to remain in infantry

Infantry amputee to remain in infantryHONOLULU, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- An infantry sergeant who lost a leg in Iraq has been granted his request to remain in the U.S. Army.Brandon Wooldridge is now stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Less than two years after he was hit by insurgent fire near Kirkuk, he is training with other infantrymen, the Honolulu Advertiser reported.While Wooldridge walks with a limp, many of his fellow soldiers do not realize that his lower right leg is a prosthetic.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Amputee wins fight to remain in infantry

Amputee wins fight to remain in infantryBy William Cole Military WriterSgt. Brandon Wooldridge is a true Army grunt, a ground-pounder who liked jumping over walls and being in the thick of things in Iraq.The Schofield Barracks soldier likely will have to go back to the country.But there was his "situation" to deal with — the fact that his left leg now ends 6 inches below the knee. From there down it's carbon fiber and titanium sheathed in his desert combat boot.The 25-year-old's calf was blown off in a firefight in Iraq in late 2004. Doctors amputated his lower leg.

How I Lost My Hand But Found Myself

How I Lost My Hand But Found MyselfPosted Sunday, Sep. 24, 2006In his book Blood Brothers, TIME senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf weaves his own tale of losing a hand in Iraq with the stories of three soldiers who also spent time at Amputee Alley, Ward 57 of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. In this excerpt, the action begins on Dec. 10, 2003, as Weisskopf, 57 at the time, is on assignment in Baghdad, riding in the back of an open humvee along with TIME photographer James Nachtwey and two young soldiers, Private Orion Jenks and Private First Class Jim Beverly.

The Men Of Ward 57 (TIME magazine)

The Men Of Ward 57http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1538621,00.htmlPosted Monday, Sep. 25, 2006It is the signature wound of the Iraq war: limb loss. The potency of insurgent bombs and the proficiency of U.S. lifesavers have produced this result. Of the 20,322 Americans wounded in action, 436 have been amputees--more than 2%, a figure higher than in every war of the previous century except Vietnam, for which there were no good statistics. In his book, Michael Weisskopf chronicles the recoveries of three amputees he met at Walter Reed.Cpl. Bobby IsaacsIsaacs was given 72 hours to live after a bomb slammed his humvee in Mosul in December 2003. He arrived at Walter Reed intact, but successive surgeries chipped away at both his legs. After returning home to Roxboro, N.C., Isaacs, 25, was invited to speak at churches and became a minor celebrity among Fundamentalist BaptistsSgt. Pete DamonA National Guard aviation mechanic, Damon was inflating a tire on a Black Hawk helicopter in Balad when the tire's metal rim exploded in October 2003. He lost his arms--and his partner Paul Bueche. Two months later, Damon married his longtime girlfriend Jenn, exchanging roses in place of rings. Haunted with guilt over Bueche's death, Damon, 34, began to find peace after meeting Bueche's parents, who absolved him of blameMsgt. Luis RodriguezA bomb in Mosul in November 2003 took Rodriguez's right leg as well as the only job the hard-driving combat medic had ever wanted. But Rodriguez, 37, who won a Bronze Star for bravery in Iraq, found a way to stay in uniform, teaching his craft at Fort Campbell in Kentucky

Monday, September 11, 2006

Profile: Army Sgt. Garth StewartA Soldier’s Duty

Profile: Army Sgt. Garth StewartA Soldier’s DutyWhen he was a youth in school, teachers did not always share Garth Stewart’s sense of humor - but they were always on their toes when he was around, says his mother, Theresa Stewart.The 22-year-old, a member of the Army’s 1st Battalion of the 15th Infantry, is still making waves with his superiors, but they are the kind of waves that make the future better for others who will follow him.Stewart was wounded while on active duty in Iraq on April 5, 2003.